Pure titanium particle loaded nanocomposites: study on the polymer/filler interface and hMSC biocompatibility

Abstract

The integration of inorganic nanoparticles into polymer matrices allows for the modification of physical properties as well as the implementation of new features for unexplored application fields. Here, we propose the study of a new metal/polymer nanocomposite fabricated by dispersing pure Ti nanoparticles into a poly(methylmetacrilate) matrix via solvent casting process, to investigate its potential use as new biomaterial for biomedical applications. We demonstrated that Ti nanoparticles embedded in the poly(methylmetacrilate) matrix can act as reinforcing agent, not negatively influencing the biological response of human mesenchymal stem cell in terms of cytotoxicity and cell viability. As a function of relative amount and surface treatment, Ti nanoparticles may enhance mechanical strength of the composite-ranging from 31.1 ± 2.5 to 43.7 ± 0.7 MPa-also contributing to biological response in terms of adhesion and proliferation mechanisms. In particular, for 1 wt% Ti, treated Ti nanoparticles improve cell materials recognition, as confirmed by higher cell spreading-quantified in terms of cell area via image analysis-locally promoting stronger interactions at cell matrix interface. At this stage, these preliminary results suggest a promising use of pure Ti nanoparticles as filler in polymer composites for biomedical applications.

Preparation and characterization of titanium—segmented polyurethane composites for bone tissue engineering

“…Both decomposition temperatures seem not to be affected by the increase of Ti concentration in contrast to some reported catalytic activity that accelerates decomposition. 26 Figure 5 summarizes these findings, where the residual mass (Figure 5(a)) and first derivative (Figure 5(b)) are plotted against temperature. The maximum temperature used during TGA was 650°C, which is far from the T m of titanium reported at 1668°C.…”

“…For pristine titanium only adsorbed water (3432 cm −1 ), carbon-containing species (2921 and 2852 cm −1 ), and oxidized titanium (705 cm −1 ) were observed. 26…”

“…Both decomposition temperatures seem not to be affected by the increase of Ti concentration in contrast to some reported catalytic activity that accelerates decomposition. 26 Figure 5 summarizes these findings, where the residual mass ( Figure 5 Tensile mechanical properties Figure 6 shows typical stress-strain curves obtained during the mechanical test of composites at high deformation rate, while the corresponding mechanical properties are summarized in Table 3. In general, at low strain rate, tensile strength decreased from 1.9 MPa to 1.2 MPa with Ti addition suggesting a poor interface, while deformation followed the same trend, i.e., a reduction from 670% for pristine PU to 172% for PU/ 5% Ti.…”

“…For pristine titanium only adsorbed water (3432 cm À1 ), carbon-containing species (2921 and 2852 cm À1 ), and oxidized titanium (705 cm À1 ) were observed. 26 Raman spectroscopy can be used for the detection of titanium (see Figure 3( . In this study, peaks at 417 and 610 cm À1 were detected and assigned to TiO 2 , but not detected in composites probably because of their low concentration.…”

Antibacterial Capability, Physicochemical Properties, and Biocompatibility of nTiO2 Incorporated Polymeric Scaffolds

“…The results implied that nTiO 2 could promote the proliferation of MG63 cells. It could be concluded that nTiO 2 was in favour of cellular proliferation and attachment, which might be due to the favourable biocompatility of nTiO 2 [47]. Further, the scaffolds with nTiO 2 were more hydrophilic, which could promote the interaction between cells and scaffolds [48,49].…”